Posted by anonymous | September 08, 2015

An attorney that truly cares about people

I cannot say enough good things about Bruce Schonberg. Not only is he one of the most intelligent and knowledgable people I have met, but it gave me a peace of mind knowing that he cared about me as a human being and really took his time explaining everything to me. Besides his extensive knowledge of... the law and being able to answer all my questions (there were many), he made himself available 24/7. I even have called him numerous times past business hours. I was extremely stressed about my situation and Bruce Schonberg has taken a lot of stress away from me with his help. Not only do I respect Mr. Schonberg and the way he runs his business, I appreciate him always going above and beyond.

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Posted by Mrs. Ceriello | September 03, 2013 | Real Estate

Real Estate Attorney Review

I normally do not rate any services. I was taken aback by a previous reviews from another client. Our experience was 100% different. My husband and I used Mr. Bruce Schonberg for a closing and we could not have been happier! The staff was friendly and competent in handling all our questions a...nd concerns. Mr. Schonberg and his office kept us informed of all updates by either email or telephone. Mr. Schonberg and his office staff were always professional and courteous from start to finish. I would absolutely recommend Schonberg Law Offices.

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Posted by anonymous | January 20, 2016 | Hired Attorney | Real Estate

You get Bruce Shoanberg, thats a sure thing...whats more sure is that he does not fight for his clients!

I don't know how he is with his "injury" law specialty, but as far as a real estate attorney he is horrible and unprofessional! He was hired as a recommendation from my realtor and seemed ok at first, but things quickly turned into a nightmare. The seller kept pushing back the closing date out of co...ntract, the seller did not fix the things that were supposed to be fixed in the contract & the seller wanted me to payback for the unused utilities in the house which was not stated anywhere in the contract! Mr. Schoanberg instead of fighting for me took the seller's side & just wanted me to sign the papers!!! Also want to add that the buyer chooses the day, time & what bank to close at, but Mr. Schoanberg let the seller decide that so I had to take off work & drive and hour out of my way. We were so excited for our new house we went through with this non-sense, I should have fired him and used another attorney. I hope other people don't make the same mistake using him for realty. You get Bruce Shoanberg, thats a sure thing...whats more sure is that he does not fight for his clients!

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Bruce Schonberg

Replied last January 20, 2016

Dear Former Client, I am sorry you had a bad experience with our law firm. I have no recollection as to what you are referring. Please note that this firm has not done a real estate closing since the FALL of 2014. We are exclusively a personal injury and criminal law firm. If you had dissatisfaction at or about the time of the closing, I wish you had expressed that to my office or myself and I certainly would have addressed your concerns. You have used our motto "When you hire Bruce Schonberg...”several times within your review. I stand by those statements. My staff and I work very hard in our representation of all of our clients. I personally try my best to provide excellent legal services. Closings are a very emotional and stressful time. Unfortunately, when you represent a buyer, there are many factors that are outside our control as a purchaser's attorney. 1) We cannot close until your bank approves the loan. 2) Closing Dates specified within a contract is not a "firm" date. It is an on or about date and in most cases the date is pushed back. Although unfortunate, it is commonplace. 3) Under most circumstances, as a buyer, you must appear at the closing. The closings always take place during the work week and most purchasers must take off from work. The average closing takes 2 hours. Most people begin to unpack when they buy or they go back to work after the closing. I am sorry your presence was required at your own closing. As indicated, I do not recollect your closing. However, if the utility that you are referring to is heating oil, every buyer MUST reimburse the seller for any oil that remains in the oil tank that will be used by you after the closing. The same applies with taxes and HOA common charges. If the seller had paid taxes and/or Home Owners Fees in advance, you must reimburse the seller for taxes going forward once you reside in the house. That’s only fair. If you were the seller wouldn’t you want to be reimbursed for expenses you were no longer using? You had some concerns about items that were not fixed in the home at the time of the closing. I assume when you did your “walk through” immediately prior to the closing, you would have identified said items that were not repaired that were promised in the contract and advised me. We ALWAYS request items promised to be fixed will be fixed or if the items are not repaired you are entitled to a credit/money at the time of closing. Without knowing specifics, I can only assume that you did receive a credit. I am sorry once again that you had an unpleasant experience. I assume the closing did go fairly well, in that you have been in your home for at least two years and hopefully you are pleased with your purchase. Because you did hire me, you did get me and I will stand by this statement. If you wish to call and/or come in, we can certainly discuss your concerns further. Thank you. Bruce Schonberg

Posted by anonymous | June 09, 2013 | Real Estate

Not recommended at all

This lawyer was recommended to us by our realtor, we actually went to hire someone else and informed our realtor about our decision but the realtor decided to go ahead and send the paper work to Bruce regardless. We complained to the realtor, but we were also in a rush to close on the house due to ti...ming. We should have thought twice about this. In the contract that was made up we got a closing date of December 1st. The lady who we were buying the house from had a fit over this because it was too far away. The majority of the time I was contacted through email by different paralegals working for him. The real issues came closer to closing time. We agreed on a closing date the week before X-mas at a time after I leave work. The lady who was living in the house all of a sudden needed more time she wanted to push it back to January. I was informed of this by one of Bruce's paralegals. This was a breech of contract on the seller's part. I finally got in contact with Bruce and he did not fight for us with this insted he kept telling us that the December 1st written in the contract is an "estimated date" and doesn't mean anything and we have to give the seller more time to get out. I got a list of days, times and approved locations for closing from my bank so we chose one that would work for our work schedules. I get a call from Bruce's paralegal saying the day & time of closing and we have no other choice. It was during the week in the morning. I called Bruce about this as he gave me his cell number because of this fiasco and asked what happend to the time we chose? as it was supposed to be the buyer's decision. My wife could not get time off from work that day due to the nature of her work and I had to see if I could get off. He tells me "no thats the only time that works for everyone (without consulting us), I am leaving for vacation the next day to Hawaii, but you can do power of attorney for your wife". She had to go to his office to sign off on paper work for this. The entire time I was told he was on personal phone calls and his dog was in the office jumping up and down on the desk and on my wife's leg. At this point he informs my wife that the seller decided to fill the oil & propane tanks and now we owe money to the seller for that. My wife & I met with the realtor the day before closing to do a final inspection of the house. In our contract the seller was supposed to take care of a few things mainly installing working lights upstairs where there was live wires hanging, railings and co detectors. I asked our realtor a few weeks before if all was done and he said yes. We only got one rail to the basement (none going upstairs), only 1 co detector (should be 1 on ea floor) and light fixtures installed with no way of turning them on. We informed our lawyers office about this as these are things we should've gotten money back on. Bruce has the nerve to try & justify eveything the seller did/didn't do and tells me she has no money. I'm sorry I'm not made of money either. Closing day comes which I had to take to morning off. We get to closing and the realtor & I go through the list of things that were not done on the house that were supposed to be. Bruce then informs me I owe him more money for power of attoney. This was not told to my wife. The whole time Bruce just wanted to rush through the paper work while flirting with the girl from the title company. I had to press him to get back just a couple measily dollars from the seller. The whole time it seemed like he was working for the seller. I called my wife on the phone to inform her what was going on and she wanted to speak to him. I give him the phone he starts arguing with my wife, puts the phone down while she's trying to talk to him and then hangs up on her. At the end he tells me he'll be the bigger man & waive his extra fees. In total we only got a couple hundred back including his "extra fees". If you want a lawyer that fights for you stay clear away from this one

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Bruce Schonberg

Replied last October 14, 2013

I am truly sorry you were unhappy with your experience at our firm. I wanted to take the time to address some of your concerns. First off, we primarily contacted you via email because you were in a rush to sign contracts before you left for your honeymoon. I had offered on several occasions to meet with you and discuss the issues of your contract. I also offered to see you on a Saturday for your convenience. At your request, we emailed contracts to you, and I spent over an hour with you on the telephone discussing each detail of the contract. As for the “closing date” that you refer to, this is in fact an “estimated date”. This was explained to you in detail, and is also explained in our retainer agreement. We had to wait for your bank to give our office what’s called a “clear to close”. You did have a loan commitment much earlier, however we cannot schedule a closing until your bank gives us the ok, which was approximately a week before we actually closed. We are sorry that we could not work around your time constraints, as we know you and your wife had very busy schedules, however your requested times were after business hours, and your bank was not open after hours. Overall from contract signing to closing, the process took less than two months. I believe if you ask any attorney that practices real estate, they would agree that this is not only an acceptable timeframe, but it is quite timely. I did mention my trip to Hawaii, however I did not mean to convey to you that I was rushing through your closing because of my vacation. I did not leave for vacation until two days after your closing. I take all real estate closings very seriously, as I am aware that is a major decision to purchase and/or sell your home, and I strive to represent my client’s interests to the fullest. As you mentioned, I even gave you my private cell phone number for you to contact me at any time with any questions. Again, I am sorry you were not happy with your experience with Schonberg Law Offices, however I would like to ensure you that your rights were protected at all times. I hope you are enjoying being a newlywed in your new home.

Bruce A. Schonberg

About Bruce

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When you hire Bruce Schonberg, you get Bruce Schonberg - That's a sure thing!

Bruce Schonberg has been practicing personal injury and accident law for over 30 years.

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Licensed in New Jersey for 5 years

Licensed in New York for 41 years

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